Blog Posts by Clyde W. Ford

This is part II of a two-part blog entitled, "Let's Talk About Race." If you missed part I, you can read it here . When people are willing to engage in a difficult conversation but do not know how, there are three tools I believe are essential: (1) Definitions; (2) Active Listening; and, (3) Engaging from the heart not the head. In my presentations...

I prepared for this day thinking that my friend would arrive at the cafe dressed in a burqa as she had the last time I saw her. I fretted that someone might feel free to let loose their hatred and fear upon her; accost her verbally or physically, especially in light of a recent ban on immigration. I practiced what I would do. From bystander interve...

Reparations for slavery are in the news, thanks, in large part, to Democrats running for President and the Democratic majority in Congress. Even conservatives have joined in the discourse. Long-time conservative commentator, and New York Times columnist, David Brooks, has come out in favor of reparations . Conservative leader of the Republican Part...

Excerpted from a talk given at the American Library Association Annual Convertion Sunday June 23, 2019, Washington, D.C.​ In 1949, Walter Winchell asked famed sportswriter Red Smith if he found it difficult to churn out a daily column. "Why, no," Smith dead-panned . "You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed." Most writers, ...

I'm not a fan of FB or Twitter. To many who know me, this comes as no surprise. Although I joined FB earlier than most, in some cases, I've taken years to respond to FB messages. In other cases, I simply never have. I'm not a Luddite nor a technophobe. Quite the opposite. My father was the first Black software engineer in America, hired by IBM in 1...